Electrical connector



G. M. ANDERSON ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Fild Oct.

Nov. 30, 1948.

FIG. l.'

PatenI-:ed Nov. 30, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR George M. Anderson, Highlands. N. J. Application october zs, 194s, serial No. 507,990 4 Clanes. (Cl. 1ra-209) (Granted under the act of amended April 30, 1928:

The invention described herein may be man-,

uiactured and used by or for the Government; for governmental and/or output resistance resulting from said lead incluctance. It has also been i'ound that, in order to facilitate the shortening of said leads, it is desirable to eliminate the conventional tube base and pins and to directly connect the tube electrodes to the circuit in which the tube is to be employed.

It is, therefore, a primary object of this invention to provide an electrical connector for detachably connecting vacuum tube electrode leads,

or the like, into electrical circuits.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector ior vacuum tube leads which permits the insertion and removal of the tube from a circuit with a minimum oi manipulative effort.

Still another object of the present invention is Y to provide an electrical connector whereby good electrical Contact between the connected electrode and the circuit elements may be obtained.

.Li further object o f the present invention is the provision of an electrical connector which is slmple in construction, economical to produce, and dependable in use.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided an electrical connector comprising an elongated body portion having a pair of resilient jaws formed at one end thereof, said jaws having cooperating. inwardly-directed ilanges adapted to receive and grip a vacuum tube electrode therebetween..

'io the accomplishment oi the foregoing general objects, and such other more specific objects as hereinafter appear, my present invention consists in the apparatus elements and their relation to 'one another as are hereinafter described and sought to be claimed in the following speciflcation. The speciilcation is accompanied by a drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a view of the electrical connector as employed with an UHF tube:

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the preferred iorm oi my invention purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

March 3, 1883, as 370 O. G. 757) 2 Figure 3 is an end elevational view thereof; and

Figure i is a top plan view of a modified form of electrical connector.

Referring to the drawing and in particular Figure 1 thereof. there is shown, in phantom, a fragment of a UHF tube AIIl having conventional electrodes, two of which are here shown at I2 and t4. Electrode I 4 is provided with a lead I6 connected at one e`nd to said electrode I4. Ihe free end of the lead I6 extends through a glass envelope, and is adapted to be connected to an electrical circuit I8 by means of a connector generally designated by the numeral 20, in accordance with the present invention.

As shown, the connector is a clip-like device made of any suitable resilient electrically conducting sheet metal material such as hardened beryllium copper and comprises an elongated body portion 22, adapted to be connected to the circuit I by means of any suitable conductor 24,

which may be ilxedly attached to one end of said ure 3.

body portion i2, as by soldering. The other end oi the said bodyV portion 22 is provided with a pair of resilient jaws 26, 23, formed in a manuel' clearly disclosed in Figure 2.

The jaws 2t, it are preferably made integral with the body portion 22 and, as shown in Figure l2, said jaws comprise upwardly extending walls titi, tl, which may be formed in the following manner: Starting with a T-shaped blank of which the cross arm has two portions corresponding to the aforementioned walls 2t, 3l, the latter may be bent toward each other at right angles to the a plane of the body portion 22 along lines parallel to said body portion, forming the upstanding walls 2t, 3i, and a bight portion 33 disposed therebetween which, with the walls 29, di, define a U-shape. The free ends of the walls 2t, 3l, are bent toward each other and at right angles to the planes of said walls 29, 3l, and along lines parallel to the body portion 22, into abutting coplanar relation, forming opposing inwardly-directed flanges 3d, 32. It will be seen that under normal conditions the plane of the flanges 3B, 32 is parallel to the plane of the body portion 22 and perpendicular to the planes of the walls 29, tl. This relationship is clearly-shown in Fig- Referring again to Figure 2, it will be seen that the abutting edges of thefianges 3d, 32 are convex-shaped in order to provide ilared end openings 34, 36 for guiding the electrode I6 into a central gripping portion of the flanges 3D, `32, at which point one of the flanges (in the illusapproximately half trated embodiment. it is the flange 2 2) has a concave, substantially semi-circular notch 28 formed therein to receive the electrode I8.

The electrode is firmly held in position in the notch 33 by/fthe edge of the opposing flange 30. The size of the notch 8B is preferably such that of the electrode cross section enters therein, the remaining portion of the electrode cross section serving to keep the flanges 39, 52 in spaced relation such that they exert pressure upon the electrode in order to firmly retain the same in the notch. In this position the jaws 29, 28 are slightly sprung outwardly with respect to the body portion 22. The connector is preferably placed on the electrode in such a way that the free end of the electrode lies flush against the body portion 22 of the connector and at right angles thereto, thus assuring good electrical contact therebetween.

At a point near the end of the body portion 22 remote from the jaws 26, 28 an aperture 40 may be formed at which the circuit wire 24 (Figure l) may be fastened.

, A modified form of connector is shown in Figure 4. vAs shown, the modified connector differs from the hereinbefore described device in the fact that concaveshaped notches 42, 44 are formed at the midpoints of each of two convex flanges 46, 48, said notches serving to receive and retain the electrode i6. The size of the notches 42, 44 is such that when the electrode is positioned therein. the flanges 46, 48, normally` in contact, are spaced from each other and thus exert pressure upon the electrode in order to keep the same in place in the notches.

In the foregoing description of my invention I have described the connector as applied to the problem of connecting electrode lead lines to circuit elements in which the tube may be employed. It will, of course, be understood that this application is but one oi many to which the present invention may be applied and it is not intended that this invention be limited thereto.

While there has been described what is at present considered the preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and it is therefore aimed in the appended claims to cover ail such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention. l

What I claim is:

1. A clip for connecting electrical circuit elements to a vacuum tube electrode comprising, a body portion connectable to the electrical circuit elements, a pair of resilient walls formed at one 7cnd of and at right angles to said body portion, cooperating inwardly directed coplanar flanges, parallel to the body'portion, formed at the extremities of said walls and at right angles thereto, and means associated with said flanges adapted to receive and grip said vacuum tube electrode therebetween said means consisting of opposed convex-shaped ends on said flanges, and a concave gripping portion positioned at the central area of at least one of said concave shaped ends, so that said electrode may be moved into position between said flanges from either. di,

rection and may be securely gripped therebetween without auxiliary means.

2. A clip for connecting electrical circuit elements 4to a vacuum tube electrode comprising an elongated body portion connectable at one end to the electrical circuit elements. a pair of resilient walls formed at the other end of and at ,V right angles to said body portion, cooperating inwardly directed flanges formed at the extremities of said walls, said flanges being coplanar and parallel to said body portion and having arcuately shaped abutting edges for guiding said vacuum tube electrode therebetween from either of two opposite directions, and means on one of said edges for yieldably retaining said electrode therebetween so that the free end of said electrode may be flush against the body portion aforesaid, and so that said electrode may be securely gripped between said edges without auxiliary means.

3. A clip for connecting electrical circuit elements to a vacuum tube electrode comprising, an elongated body portion connectable at one end to the electrical circuit elements, a pair of resilient walls formed' at the other end and at right angles to said body portion and cooperating inwardly directed coplanar flanges formed at the rextremities of said walls, said flanges being parallel to said body portion and having arcuately shaped abutting edges for guiding said vacuum tube electrode therebetween from either of two 'opposite directions, one of said flanges being notched so as to firmly retain said electrode therein without the need of any auxiliary means and allow its free end to make electrical contact with said body portion.

4. A clip for connecting electrical circuit elements to a vacuum tube electrode comprising, an elongated body portion connectable at one end to the electrical circuit elements, a pair, of resilient walls formed at the other end of and at right angles to said body portion, and cooperating inwarly directed coplanar flanges formed at the extremities oi said walls, said anges being paral- `lel to said body portion and having arcuately shaped notched abutting edges for guiding said vacuum tube electrode therebetween from either of two opposite directions in order to firmly retain said electrode therein -without the need of any auxiliary means and allow its free end to make with said body portion. I` GEORGE M. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references 'are of record in the electrical contact 'file of this patent:

France 1931 

